All Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research articles
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NewsHow bacteria can reclaim lost energy, nutrients, and clean water from wastewater
A new review explores how technologies using electricity-generating bacteria—like those already piloted at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival and in field trials in Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa—could help us reclaim resources currently being flushed away.
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NewsNot only toxic but also a nutrient: guanidine as a nitrogen source
Cyanobacteria are key ecological players of global carbon and nitrogen cycles. They are also becoming increasingly important for carbon-neutral biotechnology. They could serve as green cell factories for a light-driven and sustainable production of chemicals and fuels – a central pillar of the sustainable bioeconomy. Source: André Künzelmann/UFZ ...
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NewsForever chemicals influence cellular immune response to coronavirus
A new study shows that PFAS influence the cellular immune response to coronavirus and also reveals sex-specific differences as to how the immune system reacts to the virus.
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NewsSoil ecosystem more resilient when land managed sustainably
Compared to intensive land use, sustainable land use allows better control of underground herbivores and soil microbes, a new study shows. The soil ecosystem is thus more resilient and better protected from disturbance under sustainable management.
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NewsA chemical cocktail of micropollutants amplified the effect of algal toxins causing mass fish mortality on the River Oder
Researchers investigating summer 2022’s environmental disaster on the River Oder, which killed up to 60 per cent of fish biomass, have been able to detect more than 120 organic micropollutants in the water samples.
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NewsNewly discovered ability of comammox bacteria could help reduce nitrous oxide emissions in agriculture
An international research team has discovered that comammox bacteria can grow using guanidine, a nitrogen-rich organic compound, as their sole energy and nitrogen source, opening new avenues for targeted cultivation of these enigmatic microbes.
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NewsElectrons and microbes are key to bio-based nylon process
Researchers have developed a process that can produce adipic acid, one of two building blocks of nylon, from phenol through electrochemical synthesis and the use of microorganisms.
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NewsNovel insecticides thought safe for honey bees are devastating their gut flora
Insecticides containing flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor damage honey bees’ intestinal flora, especially when used in conjunction with a common fungicide, making them more susceptible to disease and shortening their life span.